Serving Size
by Limezz
Summary: A series of one-shot fics centering around Courage and the Computer. Examines their relationship. Sporadic updates for now.
1. Deal

**Wow, my first fic and it's for Courage The Cowardly Dog. xD Well, it's not actually my first. I have two other accounts on here, so... yeah... But this is my first fic _for _CTCD, so that counts for something, right? This'll be a collection of themes between the Computer and Courage. I love that pairing. ^-^ So here we go!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the show, why would I have to sink to writing fanfiction for it?**

Deal

Smoke drifted through the air from a dying cigar in an ashtray; an uncomfortable heat had been settled over the room for a few hours, the silence only broken now and then by the two that currently occupied the room. The sun shining in through the window made the small pink dog wearing his green visor tug at his fur, sweating still. It was extremely hot in the attic right now, which raised the question how hot it was elsewhere in the small home, considering the fact that the attic was the only room in the house that was not insulated.

"Royal Flush," the distinctly British voice of the Computer spoke up, the cards on the screen turning over to be revealed. Indeed it appeared he had one yet again, and the dog threw his cards to the ground, frustrated, "Oh don't be like that, you sour loser," the Computer said rather condescendingly. Though he didn't have a face to speak of, he almost sounded like he was rolling his eyes at the dog's childish behavior.

The dog-who went by the name of Courage despite his general lack thereof-turned to scowl at the machine, grumbling for a moment before yelling gibberish at him, reverting back to a language said animal had an easier time with. The Computer, being fluent in every language known to man and some _unknown_ to man (and other mysterious languages only known by the criminally insane. Not to mention a very curious dialect that was spoken only by one depressed potted plant that had a bad habit of smashing onto the ground and being broken) he understood Courage perfectly, and scoffed.

"Getting personal, are we?" the Computer drawled, his speak typing across the screen to match the speed with which he spoke. He paused for a moment to let Courage growl at him before giving a very coarse laugh-only one, "Ha! Well don't expect me to sink to your barbaric level. You idiot."

This prompted some louder gibberish from the dog, who slapped his small paws onto the keyboard and then jumped to the floor, where he began picking up his cards.

"No need to be violent. And _cheating_? Is that the _best_ you could do? As if I would need to _cheat_ to beat you," Courage stuffed the cards into their small box, shoving them into his pocket (because of course he has a pocket, otherwise he wouldn't be able to carry around his various nick-nacks and stuff of the like) along with his visor, "You are just marvelously untalented."

He stated this in such a matter-of-fact tone that Courage simply couldn't stand it anymore. He threw open the window to allow the smoke from his cigar (as everybody knows dogs enjoy smoking when playing poker) to drift outside where it would probably suffocate a bird or something, and then he stormed to the door.

"It's almost embarrassing that you react like this," the Computer called after him as the little dog marched down the hall and away from him, "Honestly-" his voice rose "-you are so mature right now!"

But the little dog was already gone, and the Computer sighed, alone again.

"Twit."

**Aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnd SCENE! **

**So what did you guys think, huh? Review if you're awesome! CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcome-I'm always looking for ways to improve as a writer! Remember: these won't be very long. They're just going to be a bunch of little one-shots for anyone who wants them. :3 I think the theme here is obvious. I take suggestions, so hit me with any you want to see!**

**Alright, remember to review on your way out! Farewell!**


	2. Comfort

**Another update!**

**Warning: Character Death. D8**

Comfort

Another hot day in Nowhere. Courage watched as Muriel climbed into the truck after the man in the suit. She was crying an awful lot, and the little pink dog desperately wanted to help her. But he hurt, and he was tired. He didn't want to move-couldn't move very well anyway. He was just so very tired.

Eustace wasn't present, having died in the middle of last year of old age. Courage hadn't exactly been sad, but he hadn't been happy either. He'd been there to console Muriel, though. He was always there for her, no matter what. Except for now.

He hurt so much, and Muriel was driving away already. There was nothing he could do. He didn't even really want to stand. What he wanted was to be able to know that she would be alright on her own with that man. She hadn't told him where they were going, hadn't waved when they'd driven off. It hurt him to know that she was so distraught, but that only reminded him just how little he could do.

Slowly, the dog lifted himself onto shaky legs, whining when his side jerked with pain. He wanted her to carry him like she always did. He wanted to sit with her in the rocking chair and relax, try to forget the pain, maybe try to sleep while she watched the TV. He'd even take Eustace sitting there next to him, if only things would be alright again.

_"I can't do that to my Courage!" she'd sobbed to the man from the kitchen. Courage could just hear them from the front yard, where he was trying to relax on the too-hot soil. The man in the suit had said something quietly.  
_

The small dog limped towards the house. His back legs didn't work correctly anymore, and didn't want to move when he told them to. He whimpered again at the prospect of going up the stairs, but grit his teeth, and dealt with it. Just going up one step tired him so much. He almost wanted to just lay down and sleep for a while. The wood had been in shade, it was a little cooler than the ground had been.

_"Ohh, but I don't want to see it! I just don't know what to do," she'd broken down. The small dog had wanted so much to go to her, and had whined with the effort of standing. He didn't trust that man. Didn't trust anyone. More quiet talking from the man in the suit._

Courage had conquered the front steps, and nosed the door open, sighing when he saw the steps up to the second floor. And then there were the steps up to the attic. He closed his eyes again, his chest hurting and his side throbbing. The first step was pain, the second was worse, and by the time he reached the top he was in agony. Somehow he managed to go on, and found himself in the attic, slowly making his way to the Computer.

_"I suppose...if it's best," she had murmured, and then they left, Muriel sobbing too hard to drive. The man had offered, and Courage growled. That was Eustace's truck. Only Eustace or Muriel were to drive it. But he was ignored._

Booting the computer up didn't take long, and soon Courage was greeted with his British voice.

"Looking a bit long in the face," he said, and Courage whined again, one long, high pitched one as he climbed onto the bucket on the chair. He sighed as he tried to lay down to get the weight off of his haunches, and tried to type.

_'mn inn sute_'

"I can't understand your gibberish," the Computer complained, slightly put out by the dog's attitude. Of course, he was partially aware of what was going on, and tried to sympathize with the poor thing. He took on a slightly kinder tone, "Do try to spell better."

Courage tried again, typing much slower this time.

_'man in sute took muriel. she cried.'_

"Man in a suit? Oh my, sounds serious," the Computer drawled, but cleared his throat, "How are you feeling, my canine fellow?" He asked, a sense of dread falling over him. It was only strengthened when Courage whined even louder, then sighed again, his eyes closing.

"It'll be alright, chap. Perhaps a relative was sick," he said, watching the old dog closely. He was dying, that was for sure. By the looks of his swollen left side it was cancer. He'd probably already gone into the final stages, the tumor spreading all down his side, making it nearly impossible for him to use his hind legs. The Computer was slightly in awe that he'd made it up to the attic.

He was also somewhat sad. Courage was the only one he'd had to talk to all these years, and him dying was such a shame, and at such a young age too. There were dogs who lived to be much older than he was, but here he was being taken from the world early. Muriel wouldn't come up here to use him, and once Courage was gone, he'd have no one again. He'd be all alone, cut off from everyone.

"It'll be alright. You'll be alright."

And he wasn't only talking to Courage.

**Daww, poor Computer. Poor Courage. This one is rather angsty, isn't it? I think I made it go on for a bit too long, but it's depressing all the same. Please tell me what you think! Constructive critisism is always welcome!**


	3. Guilt

**OHNO! It's been so long! Here's a short one for you guys!**

Guilt

Lightning. The little pink dog of a questionable breed absolutely hated it. It was loud, bright, and it terrified him. Not only that, but wherever there was lightning, there were sometimes fires. Fires that burned during the rain; fires that never go too close for comfort, but still frightened him. Above all else-and there were plenty of other things he hated about storms. One of these being the strange noises he would hear at night during a storm. Another being the loud, howling wind. And Courage really hated loud things-above all else it was DARK. Muriel and Eustace didn't need a night light-they were brave. Unlike him. He knew too much-frighteningly bizarre tales the computer used to scare him-and had seen too much of what roamed about in the dark. Not to mention the fateful night he hated to remember when he had been abandoned. It had been dark then too.

Courage was currently shaking-so hard his teeth chattered and the bed shook-while laying in between Muriel and Eustace. His eyes wouldn't shut, no matter how hard he tried to make them (he couldn't even blink!) and the cover he had pulled up to his eyes didn't diminish the cold, sinking feeling that pestered his gut. Usually he would be at the foot of the bed, because Eustace would yell at him if he slept between the elderly couple. But tonight he couldn't help himself, the thunder kept pounding, and the lightning kept striking, and the floors kept creaking, and the wind kept howling, and the rain kept pattering, and it was DARK, so dark, and a shadow passed the window-it could have been shingles, or any form of debris. Unfortunately, the little dog was not in his right mind enough to realize this-and he couldn't take it anymore, and-

"NOOOOOOOOOAAAARRRWWWWWWW!" He cried. It sounded more like a howl near the end, and was obviously loud enough to rouse the two sleeping near him.

With two yelps of surprise, Muriel and Eustace bolted upright, and looked down at Courage-who was currently lacking in this-before Muriel sighed.

"Why I autta-" Muriel quickly cut Eustace off. She knew how he got, and didn't want anything to happen to her poor Courage.

"Now, now, Eustace, don't do anything rash. I'll take him up to the attic for you, how's that?" Eustace gave a grunt, rolling over. He was a lazy man who didn't do much of anything unless it was berating Courage or working on his truck. (Or eating, of course. The man was stick thin, but he ate whenever he got the chance.) Muriel had expected him to relent-after all, it was late, and he was tired-so she gingerly picked up the shaking, whimpering dog and took him to the attic with a heavy heart.

"Now it's alright, Courage," she stroked him gently and smiled, comforting him as much as she could before she left, closing the door behind her.

A mattress was already layed out in the attic for such times as these, when Courage woke Eustace up in the middle of the night. It was practically the dog's room, though the animal didn't spend very much time up there unless he was bored or needed information from the computer.

Speaking of the computer, Courage thought he could use his comforting glow right about now, and booted him -_tried_ to boot him up. Unfortunately, the power was out, much to Courage's extreme dismay and fear. He hopped from one foot to the other, aware that he was in for one heck of a long night. He wouldn't get any sleep, he knew. Not without a light of some kind.

So for the next few hours he tried to switch the computer on, only succeeding when the storm began to let up. With a cry of "Yes!" he watched with delight as the screen lit up, and the computer gave a yawn (which was impossible, because he shouldn't have even been able to speak in the first place, but this author will digress and get back to the story).

"Yaawn... Ah, what a nice nap. It would have been nicer if _someone_ hadn't woken me up early. So what do you want?" His coarse, British voice greeted Courage, who whimpered and wrung his little paws. He looked up at the computer, who sighed.

"A nightlight? Again?" Courage nodded, "You know this means I'll have to stay up for the rest of the night?"

Courage sighed, another whine edging in on it as he reached for the power switch. He wasn't very happy about it-he would love for there to be some light to fend off the scary darkness and it's creatures-but he wasn't about to let himself be comforted if someone else would be compromised. Just as his digit touched the button, the computer stopped him.

"Oh, alright, alright! It's fine," he said, but the small dog could hear the reluctance in his voice and whined loudly at the computer, drawing his paws back together, "No, no, I'd be _happy_ to. _Really_."

Courage smiled up at him and scampered over to the bed, snuggling under the quilt and keeping his eyes on that warm, reassuring light emanating from the computer screen. In a way, he thought the computer might be watching him too, and that comforted him too. It was like he had the dog's own guardian, watching over him as he slept to make sure nothing bad happened to him. Of course, he'd never tell this to the computer. It would only create a long, awkward silence and maybe some coughing before he would leave and never return to the attic again. Besides, why on earth would the computer need-or _want_, for that matter-to know he thought these things? It was best to keep them to himself and let his eyes finally, slowly, close. He let the peaceful silence stretch on, and felt that maybe he would be able to sleep.

That is, until the power went out again.

**I torture you, Courage!**

**Anyway, this turned out longer than I thought. xD I was thinking maybe just three or four paragraphs. It's alright, though, the more the better. ANYHOW, I'll try and update this more often. I really have no excuse, I was even writing one on here last month, but I never got passed the first paragraph. xD I'll upload that...sometime, though. It's better if it's a spur of the moment type of thing, though. I just thought of a candle for this one, and got the idea for a storm, and all that. :D**

**I hoped you enjoyed reading this! PLEASE review, I love hearing what you guys think of my writing! And farewell! Until next time! (And let's hope that next time is soon! xD)  
**


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